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"Forces of Nature" illustrates how we experience Earth's natural forces, including shape, elements, color and motion. Although we can't immediately feel the motion of Earth's fundamental forces, we witness the consequences, such as tidal bores surging through the Amazon rainforest or the intense and ruinous power of hurricanes.
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Surfer Serginho Laus rides the Prororoca Wave, a tidal wave on the Amazon River in Brazil.
Dung Beetles on a Spinning Planet
The rotation of our planet affects many creatures, including the humble dung beetle.
Learn how we experience the consequences of natural forces that keep Earth on the move.
After a dry summer the parched plains of the Serengeti transform into a green blanket.
Researcher Oswaldo Vasquez swims with humpback whales in the Silver Banks Marine Reserve.
In the Dominican Republic a team of divers explore an underground cave system.
Learn how Earth’s chemical elements transformed barren rock into a living world.
"Forces of Nature" illustrates how we experience Earth’s natural forces, including shape, elements, color, and motion in each of its four episodes. Although we can’t immediately feel the motion of Earth’s fundamental forces, we witness the consequences, such as tidal bores surging through the Amazon rainforest or the intense and ruinous power of hurricanes.
Episode 1 | Shape
We can’t directly see the forces that govern Earth, but we can see their shadows in the shapes of nature that surround us. If we understand why these shapes exist, we can understand the rules that bind the entire universe.
Episode 2 | Elements
The forces of nature make Earth a restless planet, but they also turned our ball of rock into a home for life. How did our planet’s ingredients, the chemical elements, come together and take that first crucial step from barren rock to a living world?
Episode 3 | Color
Earth is painted in stunning colors. By understanding how these colors are created and the energy they carry, we can learn the secret language of the planet.
Episode 4 | Motion
The forces of nature have kept Earth on the move since it was formed billions of years ago. Though we can’t feel the motion, we experience the consequences – from tidal bores surging through the Amazon rainforest to the ruinous power of hurricanes.
Color: Maasai cattle herder, Parapakuni, surveying the grasslands of the Serengeti plains in Tanzania.
1/10
Alex Ranken
Motion: Malik in Tasiilaq, Greenland.
2/10
Nicholas Jordan
Elements: A net full of firefly squid, Watasenia scintillans, caught in Toyama Bay, Japan.
3/10
Alex Ranken
Shape: Manatees gather near the warm water outlet of a power station in Florida, USA.
4/10
Alice Jones
Elements: Exploring a halocline cave.
5/10
Pietro Donaggio
Motion: Ice fishermen of Tasiilaq, Greenland preparing a hole in the sea-ice.
6/10
Nicholas Jordan
Color: Peter Kiap dressed for the Sing Sing.
7/10
Suzy Boyles
Motion: Michael Christienson and his son, Malik.
8/10
Nicholas Jordan
Motion: A rider struggles to keep his horse under control in the Ardia, an traditional annual race through the streets.
9/10
Karolina Mottram
Shape: A team from the town of Vilafranca del Penedès in Catalonia prepare to build a human tower by creating a circular base the Concurs de Castells competition in Tarragona, Spain.
10/10
Alice Jones
A bold, breathtaking series that explores the immense natural forces of our world. Now on DVD & Blu-ray.
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